be hard up
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
George laughs gruffly: “You lot must be hard up for heroes.”
From The Guardian • Jun. 11, 2018
The finding that loneliness can be contagious also caught some readers off-guard—wouldn't lonely souls be hard up for people to infect?
From Slate • Apr. 7, 2010
And, though their well-to-do friends were beginning to talk of new model cars and going abroad once more, the Quentins continued to be hard up.
From The House of Toys by Miller, Henry Russell
Someway, all the old-timers that are living seem to be hard up, or in bad health, or unhappy.
From In Our Town by Gruger, Frederic Rodrigo
A ghost must be hard up, one would think, to visit my Puggy; there ought to be an asylum for impoverished spectres.
From Peggy by Barry, Etheldred B. (Etheldred Breeze)